P.S./M.S. 164 PRIDE POST

P.S./M.S. 164 PRIDE POST

Middle School Edition

Spring /Summer 2018 Issue

Volume 6

Table of Contents

Cover by Jiayi Lin
Back Cover by Ifra Ali
Logo by Chibuike Amasiani

Page 1...Poem by Shabana Khan Page 17...Poem by Madina Azizi
Poem—Anonymous Poem by Esther Yagudayev
Drawing by Ashlee Brown Drawing by David Babayev
Drawing by Assia Yousufi
Page 18...Story by Matthew Lam, Khalid Weish &
Page 2...Drawing by Jiayi Lin Esther Nektalova
Drawing by Nabiha Ajaz Drawing by Camilla Lantigua
Drawing by Tatiana Brown
Drawing by Karen Shan Page 19...Drawing by Isaac Wallace
Drawing by Vishwa Patel
Page 3...Drawing by Maaz Qasim Drawing by Joe D. Pro
Drawing by Anum Ansari Drawing by Sean Rei Gonzales
Drawing by Rushabh Patel
Drawing by Qingyu Jiang Page 20...Photography by Valentina Yanguma
Page 21...Photograph by Esther Yagudayev
Page 4...Story—Anonymous
Border Art by Tatiania Brown Photograph by Nabiha Ajaz
Page 22– 23… Comic by Karol Kopciuch
Page 5...Story by Nicholas Morote Page 24...Poem by Andres Gomez
Drawing by Maaz Qasim
Drawing—Anonymous
Page 6...Quiz compiled by Luciano Morote Page 25...List & Artwork compiled by Andres Gomez &
Page 7...Drawing by Zowie Shbairo
Jiayi Lin
Drawing by Sara Shah Page 26...Drawings by Avi Yushuvayev
Poem—Anonymous Page 27...Art by Randy Nicoletti
Quiz by Mia Castillo & Camilla Lantigua
Page 8...Essays by Aabir Maghni, Alfredo David, Art by Dominic Czajkowski
Dori Nave, Yaheli Mordechai & Chantal Ellington Art by Shreeya Joshi
Page 9...Story by Sean Zhou Art by Kai Guo
Page 10...Drawing by Melissa Parnell Art by Winfred Lin
Drawing by Francis Loke Page 28...Story by Ali Arefee & Maaz Qasim
Drawing by Matthew Zhou Drawing by Caira Jeffrey
Page 11...Drawing by Weiki Chen Page 29...Story by Esther Yagudayev
Drawing by Nikki Lin Drawing by Caira Jeffrey
Drawing by Iuliia Batorova Page 30—31...Survey compiled by Aarti Patel &
Page 12...Drawing by Iuliia Batorova Liv Svilem
Drawing by Maaz Qasim Page 32...Story by Madina Azizi
Drawing by Tatiana Brown Drawing by Esther Yagudayev
Drawing by Helen Qiu Page 33...Story by Chiara Luka
Page 13...Essay by Jonathan Kirat Page 34...Quiz by Esther Yagudayev
Page 14...Poem by Chris Salgado Page 35...Word Search by Jiayi Lin
Poem by Mohammed Shafi Maze by Rushabh Patel & Jaymin Panchal
Poem by Enrique Ortiz Page 36...Drawing by Ailin Moldogazieva
Drawing by Wen Lin Drawing by Aasiyah Aziz
Page 15...Poem by Michaela Peykar Page 37...Drawing by Maaz Qasim
Poem by Caira Jeffrey Drawing by Emily Ou
Poem by Sanjarbek Djuraev Drawing by Margarita Sachakov
Poem by Yehunatan Akhavan Page 38-39...Match Up compiled by Mia Castillo &
Drawing by Jiayi Lin Shaheer Dar
Page 16...Poem by Sean Zhou Page 40...Reviews by Aaliyan Qureshi & Benjy Hanimov
Poem by Esther Yagudayev Review by Haris Dervisevic
Drawing by Esther Yagudayev Page 41...Drawing by Daniel Meskin

Love—Anonymous
Blood, Rain Love.

We loved and loved and it hurt.
Even when the world was against us we still loved.

Years later we were at a Stonewall and we got
arrested.

Diseases took over they let us die.
We loved and we weren’t aloud in the army.
We still loved and loved and never stopped.

In Love
By: Shabana Khan
In your love I fell,
Escaping out of hell
If you’re wondering who,
I fell in love with you
How much I love, you have no clue
Even though we are at a distant,
But our love is still persistent
I just want to give you a kiss
To show how much you I miss
Want you to understand my feelings
And know what the future Is revealing
Even if forever is a long time
I don’t mind spending it by your side

Petal By Petal

Tear By Tear

By Ashlee Brown By Assia Yousufi
1

Jiayi Lin

Nabiha Ajaz

Tatiana Brown

Karen Shan

2

Image Drawn By
Maaz Qasim

Image Drawn By
Anum Ansari

Image Drawn By
Rushabh Patel

Image Drawn By
Qingyu Jiang

3

Dark Web

Many of you have heard of a part of the Dark Web, not to be confused with
the deep web. The Dark Web is an area of the web that is completely blocked off
from anything you might be able to access through Google. In order to even get
into the Dark Web, you would have to download a web browser named TOR. TOR
works as a VPN for your computer, or as a tunnel for your computer to obtain the
“hidden” websites that the Dark Web is known. Once there, you must find and en-
ter specific letters and numbers to actually go onto the sites, only ever knowing
that such sites were hidden because they ended with the suffix, “onion”. While it
isn’t the hardest thing to do, accessing the Dark Web, the activities that take place
in the dark web are still scary enough to scare away even some of the bravest peo-
ple. Unless you took numerous additional steps to protect yourself while on the
dark web, you could be arrested for a crime that you might have committed by

accident.

One business that is sprawling in the Dark Web is the drug business.

Cocaine, Marijuana, opioids– you name it, you can probably get it in the dark web.
This site could be guessed by anyone and purchased by anyone who knows what
they’re doing. However, keep in mind that there is no way to know that someone
is stealing your money, one reason to avoid purchasing anything on the Dark Web.
Also, business information is stolen and fake ID’s and counter fit money is made.
You can purchase fake money, a stolen person’s credit card and credentials, or
even things crucial to ones identity, such as social security numbers or passports.

One common story that is spread around is that you could buy your way into
something called a “Red Room”. A Red Room is essentially a livestream of some-
one torturing and potentially killing someone else. Speaking of killing, it is said
that you can buy the services of someone called a “hitman” in the Dark Web. A
hitman is a person that is hired to hurt or kill another assigned target. These are
only a few of the things that you can find on the Dark Web.

-Anonymous
-Border by Tatiana Brown

4

From the universe of Black comes one of the powerful villains ….

Chapter one
2:30 June 3th, the day it all started. I woke up and put on my clothes. I dashed out of my
room and headed to my school, where I got my breakfast. When I arrived nobody noticed that I
was the new kid. I walked to class, only getting lost once. But when I got to my room it was “odd”.
It was the last door on the other side of the hallway and it was red when the rest were brown or gray.
I went slowly inside my classroom to find a desk, which was near my neighbor Andy. But then the
unexpected happened. My brother was near the window at the other side of the room, banging the
window.
Everyone snickered and laughed. They knew how weird and how annoying he was. I spent
the whole day trying to forget it. But the anger inside me was burning and I felt like I wanted to
punch somebody. l found my found my brother in the hallway and started yelling in his face.

“Max what is wrong with you?! You embarrassed me on the first day of school! What is
wrong with you? Can’t you just act normal?! Just be an average kid!”

Max pushed me with all his might to the wall and then to the red door. For some reason it
broke and we fell into the dark abyss. As we fell through a world of illusion, I opened my eyes. We
were falling down a mountain. Then my brother fell beside me and pushed me to the left. I fell on top
of a pile of rocks. I was unconscious for about ten minutes. Then without warning we fell again into
a rock wall and then down to a dark hole. The third fall made us realize we were at the center of the
red door.

“Great. Now we’re in another world because of a fight!” I said.
“Maybe you're right. This is my fault” Max replied.
I helped him up but then we heard a loud BOOM! “What is that?” I Screamed!

To be continued...
By Nicholas Morote

Drawing by Maaz Qasim
5

What do you think when you FIRST see this?
Tell the TRUTH!

3 Circles Mickey
You are
obvious. You
love
Scared Face Disney.

You know Dog’s Paw
emoji’s You love
and the dogs and
Internet have one.
well.
Made by Luciano Morote
Triangle
You know ways 6
to draw shapes
and you love
drawing.

Jimin How well do you know BTS?
Take this quiz and find out!
Born in Geumjeong-gu South Korea
Child of unknown 1. Who is the oldest member from BTS?
Lived in Busan (South Korea)
Studied Contemporary dance A. Jimin B RM
Overcame self-esteem issues
Worked as a kpop idol C. V D. Jungkook
Challenged by eating disorders
Always sings/dances E. J-Hope F. Suga
Never gives up
Best known for being in Kpop G. Jin

2. On which show was their US TV debut?

A. James Corden B. Ellen Degeneres

C. American Music Awards D. Jimmy Kimmel

3. What does BTS stand for?

A. Behind the scenes B. Bangtansonyeondan

C. Boy the scouts D. Boys that sing

4. Who was born in Busan?

A. V and Jimin B. Jin and V

C. Rm and Suga D. Jungkook and Jimin

5. Who is the youngest?

A. Jimin B. Jungkook

C. J-hope D. V

6. Who has ChimChim as a nickname?

A. V C. Suga

B. Jungkook D. Jimin

Answers on page 41

By By
Sara Shah Zowie Shbairo

7

Technology - PROS and CONS

Technology doesn't let you think for yourself. Let's say for instance you had really easy homework. You
might be really lazy and not want to complete it yourself. You pick up your laptop and search up the answers and
find them. You copy the answers and that's it , you're done with your homework! Just finding the answers doesn't
really help you. You might just be copying them down without even understanding what the information is telling
you. There was a classroom study where there were two experimental groups. One group was allowed to use the
internet during class. The other group wasn't allowed to use the internet at all. The group that was allowed to use
the internet didn't process what the speaker said during the lecture as well as the students who did not have access
to the internet.

The internet breaks our thought so we're never thinking of what we are doing to the fullest. One English
teacher has resorted to having students read aloud in class because many lack the attention span to read assign-
ments on their own The fact is you'll never think deeply if you're always googling." In addition , one researcher
writes," It's also encouraging us to think superficially it's making us shallow." it means the internet lets us google
and see things so we don't think about the topic and leave it all to google to handle then trying it ourselves.

Technology is causing students all over the world to do poorly in school because they are too distracted by it.
In the text " Attached to Technology and Paying the Price" it says " Their 16 year-old Conner, tall and polite like his
father, recently received his first C's, which his family blames on distraction from his gadget." (Ritchel). This means
that when you decide to start playing on your phone or computer, you start forgetting about your school work,
which can lead to getting bad grades or even failing. In the article, " Growing up Digital" it states, " Ramon Ochoa-
Lopez ,14, plays six hours of video games and more on the weekends, leaving homework to be done in the bathroom
before school." (Ritchel).

The Internet can cause emotional problems. Social media can cause not only just depression, but also anxie-
ty. Researchers have also found a link between social media use, and poor body image, which can lead to eating dis-
orders. Young women, in particular, are bombarded with images of perfect bodies. Many of those images are digital-
ly edited to mask people’s flaws and imperfections” (Sun, 2017). This quote is informing us that many teens spend
countless hours online, on social media, and on their other technology devices. Many people view other people
online, and they try to look like them, by doing things like losing weight. They basically end up starving themselves,
by stopping to eat, or barely eating at all.

Furthermore, anxiety is when you’re constantly nervous and stressed, and constantly have a fear about
some thing(s). For example, the author stated, “The ‘fear of missing out’ is an actual social anxiety, from the fear
that you’re missing a potential event or opportunity. A collection of Canadian universities found that 7/10 students
said they would get rid of their social media/social net working accounts, if it were not for the fear of being left out
of the loop” (Parnell, 2018).ety. People check their phones constantly because they are scared they are going to
miss out on a trend or something going on around the internet. In “The Damage Social Media Has on Empathy”, they
talk about a teenage girl who took her life because a picture went viral off a group chat. Other research found that
teens who spent five or more hours per day on their devices are 71% more likely to have risk of suicide.

However, some people believe social media can help you get rid of stress. When you are on social media you
have lots of people to help you with your problems and to help you calm down. According to Mukherjee in her arti-
cle " Why Facebook Could Actually Be Good for Your Mental Health" The pictures we often post are reminders of a
positive post event. When in the grip of a negative mood it is too easy to forget how good we often feel, our positive
posts can remind us of this. This portrays that when we are feeling down we can look at all of the fun we had and
when we think of those times we don't feel as bad and we feel more relaxed and less stressed. When we are looking
back at good times it is really hard to tell why you were mad or stressed in the first place. We think that there is
nothing to be mad at or stressed about and we go on with our day with out any worries.

Written by:
Aabir Maghni
Alfredo David

Dori Nave
Yaheli Mordechai
Chantal Ellington

8

I wake up, immediately looking to my clock. Its annoying chirps fill my
ears, flashing the time of 7:30am. Slowly, I emerge from my bed to my father’s
room. Over the night, he must’ve moved since he hung off his bed. Turning on the
lights, I pick him up.

“Good morning dad!”
Still in his morning daze, he doesn’t respond. He only gives me his one of a
kind, warm smile. I smile back. Walking down to the kitchen, I fix him a breakfast
made for a king. Presenting the meal to him, he flashes the same smile as he al-
ways does. I walk away to prepare myself for school.
Just before I leave, I check on him. Still peacefully in his room, I find his
food hardly touched. Good ol’ dad. I think to myself. I lift his plates and utensils to
the sink, disposing the leftovers. I close the door, shouting behind me, “Bye dad!”

***
Coming back home from my after school classes, I enter my house with my
jolly, “Dad! I’m back! I have so much work to do, I’m headed to the library.”
I realize that my father didn’t eat anything throughout the day. I make him an
early dinner. Nothing fancy, just pasta. I even take some for myself for later. Drop-
ping it off in his room, I can see his gleaming smile from out his door. I’m not sure
if it’s for me being here for him or for food. I leave my house soon afterwards.

***
Back from the library at a late hour, I notice that my mother has parked her
car and has already fallen asleep. My father, on the other hand, is still awake in his
room. Cleaning myself up from the stressful day, I walk up to my father’s room.
He, again, hasn’t touched his food much, but when he is happy, I’m happy. I bring
his plate down, pleased with how the day has gone by so far.
Prepared to go to sleep, I check on my father one last time. He has his plastic
smile on, ready to slumber. I turn his picture, safely secured within a golden
frame, facing downwards to symbolize he is asleep.
My therapist tells me that my coping method is fine and some people simply
take longer than others considering that I’ve been repeating this process for three
years. He is supportive, though I cannot say the same for my mother. However, I
still do it because I miss him. The picture is all I have left of him.
With his picture down, I close the light, I turn my head behind me, saying,
“Goodnight dad, I love you.”

- Sean Zhou

9

Francis
Loke

Melissa Parnell

Matthew
Zhou

10

Helen Qu

Weiki Chen Nikki Lin

Iulia Batanova

11

Iulia Maaz
Batorova Qasim

Tatiana Helen
Brown Qiu

12

Motorcross

Jonathan Kirat

Do you like sports? Football, baseball, basketball? I like those too, but my favorite sport
is motocross! Motocross is super fun, but also really dangerous. It is considered to be one of

the most physically demanding sports there is and I think it is mentally challenging as well.

A typical race day starts at the 8am sign up. Usually, the racers are split into age
groups, starting at 4 years old, and bike size, 50cc and up, and are given a four lap practice.
The racing starts by 10am. Most days there are between 25-30 different classes racing. Each
class races two motos, four laps each. But the day is super long because you have to do one
whole set of motos before you start the second set, so when you are a late race, you are there
til the sun sets. I actually raced in the dark once last year.

An MX track is usually about 1.5-2 miles long. They all contain a certain number of
obstacles such as whoops, table tops, jumps, sharp turns and straight aways. All the racers
line up at the gate, watch for the gate to drop and then take off. A good start is really im-
portant to getting a good finish, especially when there are over 20 racers in the moto.

It’s a pretty expensive sport, too. Motocross gear consists of: a jersey and pants, the
helmet, boots, gloves, elbow and knee guards, neck brace, chest protector and goggles. I did
say it was dangerous, right?! The racer has to be protected as much as possible. And of
course, you need a motorcycle. Most racers have a practice bike and a race bike. You never
know when you might crash and damage a bike. It’s good to have an extra for the parts.

Last year, I raced the MSC MX series. There were a total of 17 races at four different
tracks, including The Wick 338, in Southwick, Ma. which is a national track and holds a lot of
Pro-races. That is my favorite track because it’s really long and it’s sandy. I won all four of my
Jr Mini motos at that track, which helped me win my class for the season. I finished in third
for the Mid-Mini class. We race in snow, extreme heat, extreme cold and pouring rain, just like
the pros. A lot of our races were “Mudders”!!! An MX race is almost never cancelled. It can get
pretty tough out there.

The best part about racing, to me, is spending the whole day with my family & friends.
There is a lot of down time between motos so we have a lot of fun and eat a lot of good
bar-b-que. We may be competing on the track, but we are all friends off the track and we have
each others back. I really miss them during the winter and can’t wait til the new season starts
again.

13

7th grade studied the issue of slavery. They read about the life of Fredrick Douglass.
They wrote poems based on narratives he wrote about his life.

Christopher Salgado Mohammed Shafi Enrique Ortiz
No Knowledge
Life Of a Slave Songs Of Slave
No knowledge of my age,
Born a slave Slaves sing most No knowledge of my birthday, my dad ,
separated from my mother.
Died a slave When they are most unhappy No Knowledge, Harriet Bailey my mother,
No knowledge of her son, My father white
Lived a slave Songs represent the sorrows man
No known parentage; overseer so evil.
Slavery was cruel Of his heart No knowledge of feelings, crops on the
floor.
And slaves were like a tool He is relieved by them , No knowledge of a book.
No knowledge of my mother—Harriet
They had no bed Only as an aching heart, is Bailey was a lady that made a long trip to
see her son.
Had no food relieved by slave’s tears Wish I wasn't deprived of my knowledge.
Slaves have No Knowledge!
They were cut and hit
Drawing by
Whipped and slashed Wen Lin

They screamed

And dreamed

They suffered and were in discomfort

Were owed until old

Cause life is short

They would wait, wait and wait

For the time

To follow the North Star

Which would bring joy and tears

Happiness and songs

To become free and to end

All suffering caused on day and night

All the time

14

Haikus based on a study of child slavery

Dungeon with no air . The tomb is stuffy
Iqbal is scared and sad. Dark, no light, bugs everywhere
Fatima is brave . Cannot breathe.
Kids are petrified. Scary.
Millions of slaves are abused. By Sanjarbek Djuraev
How will I get out?
I feel so hopeless. Artwork
My fingers are numb and raw. by
Everybody is drowsy.
Good chocolate I eat. Jiayi Lin
It is made from hopeless kids.
And I feel dismay.
By Michaela Peykar

Blisters and bruises It was very hot.
Children are hot and tired Bad, hopeless, working so hard.
They’re trapped and frightened. Wishing to get out.
Sullen and lonely The tomb is so dirty
Poor Iqbal is trapped and scared. Stuck, cannot breathe, suffocate.
But Fatima helps. Sad and all alone.
By Caira Jeffrey By Yehunatan Akhavan

15

Raid Drawing & Poem BY
I walk down the stone pavement, Esther Yagudayev
strolling through the town market,
A light wind whips through my hair, End of the road
refreshing my skin on this humid spring She no longer is a young girl…
Her hair has become purely
day, white…
And her skin, soft but loose…
A sudden sharp wind lashes at my face, This is the end of the road…
A single arrow hits the ground, Time to let go of the grass…
Warning signs, This is the end of the road …

Arrows block out the sun, -
waves of arrows pierce into the ground,
plunging themselves between the dirt and SilenSce takes her mind away…
To a world above…
stones, A world of peace...
I sing a quite song to myself until it all

passed,

Grenades sent from the heavens,
this hut was my sanctuary.

The frags shoot underneath the door,
hitting my exposed ankles.

I look up to see the now blue sky and sun.
You can see the effects of the attack on
the ground,
as I splash in the puddles left.
Oh how I hate rainy days.

Poem by Sean Zhou

16

The Peasant Getaway
By Esther Yagudayev
By Madina Azizi
I just want to get away
You know him as To a place where I can do my own thing.
Your Prince,
But he has A place of too much thrill
Without needing to pay a bill.
A King of his own. Maybe we could fight pirates in Neverland.
His King speaks, Or protect our heads in Wonderland.
And all goes well. The Queen of Hearts could call for tea time.
Captain Hook could commit another crime.
He sits on his Then one day the Mad Hatter would give me his comb,
Golden Throne. That would pull me back and remind me of home.
The ceremony
David Babaev
Is nearly over
And that is when 17

The Peasant
Arrives

The Peasant speaks,
And all should have

Been well,
But your Prince
Is too fond of

His King.
He will not

Allow
The Peasant
To take his King’s

Spot
With these words.

Tomatoes
Are thrown at
The Peasant,
But he endures it
And makes it out

Alive.
The Prince’s

Subjects
Know this is wrong

No one
Says

A word.

On Death Street
By Matthew L, Esther N, Khalid W
I always wanted to stay home alone, but sadly I was with a babysitter. Also, I had to go to sleep ear-
ly so my “stay home alone” pretty much sucked. Plus, the babysitter was trash. All she did was watch TV.
After a couple of minutes, I went to sleep and the next day something came up horrifying. The morning af-
ter my babysitter left, I saw on the news that a 18 year old victim named Jessie Tim was stabbed to death
at Death Street 69 Ave. She was murdered in front of my house. She never made it home. Her parents re-
ported her missing. A body wasn’t found and there was blood stains on the ground. But DNA tests saw that
the blood was hers. My parents walked in the room and they told me the story. The police had called them
and asked them if they knew anything about what happened. I was a little scared and started asking ques-
tion to myself. Why in the world would they kill my babysitter? I mean she was boring. Was she an under-
cover assassin? To be honest, I really didn’t care as much because she wasn’t anyone to me.
A couple minutes later, my mom was screaming my name. What the hell is going on around here? I
come to her room and she said, “Go call the police!” I came forward and I saw my babysitters body on
the floor. I was trying to keep calm and not to scream. My mom was freaking out and my dad was at work. I
ran to my room and I got my phone. I dialed 911 and they answered quickly.
“911, what’s your emergency?”
“There’s a dead body inside my house and my mom is freaking out!”
“Stay calm. What’s your address?”
“Death Street at 70th Ave, please hurry!”
“We will be there as soon as possible. Don’t do anything, don’t touch anything.”
“Ok.”
A couple minutes later, they arrived and my mom was relieved. They pushed us out the way and
started putting numbers around the body and they drew a outline of the body then preserved it. The medics
went back to the ambulance with the body and the police brought in detectives to search the house in case
of any evidence. They looked everywhere and luckily they found nothing.
Once they left, I pretended to take a shower. My mom seemed unsure of something so I watched
as she checked the house herself. She started checking in her room, behind her closets, under the carpet
and she found something. In her drawers. It was a bloody knife. She didn’t scream. She stayed calm and
called the police again.
“The police were just here on Death Street 70th Ave and they left a couple minutes ago. I
found a bloody knife in my drawers and I think it’s my son’s. He’s been with the babysitter all night yester-
day and she was murdered yesterday.”
“Ma’am, slow down.”
“He’s in the shower right now a-a-and I don’t know what to do.”
“I’m going to send them back shortly. Please calm down.”

***

Drawing by Camilla Lantigua

18

Isaac Wallace Anonymous

Vishwa Patel

Joe D Pro Sean Rei Gonzales

19

By Valentina Yanguma

20

Photograph by Nabiha Ajaz Photograph by Nabiha Ajaz

Photographs by Esther Yagudayev

21

This is the first “episode” of the comic series.
The next edition will be in the next fall
Magazine.
THANKS FOR READING!
-Karol K

Story: Steve, a regular drawn stickman and a
resident to the computer meets his friend
Pete and they find a very bad malware inside
of a fold which threatens the computer.
Steve and Pete go into the computer and
strive to become heroes by defeating the
malware.

22

This is another note,
There is not supposed to be dialogue in the last page.
In case you came here for the dialogue of comic go to my
Weebly which will have all of my comics, zoomed in and easy to
read. My Weebly web page will be posted in the next magazine.

These comics might be moved to a website on Weebly because I
might not be able to continue writing and drawing these comics

after I leave the school so be sure to tune in for these comics
online.
-Karol K.

23

Dreams

As the sun dims,
And the people go to sleep,
There’s a world of imagination,
A place so glorious you go to leap,
One can not imagine the possibilities,
As we dance around the fields,
During this special time,
The power that our minds yield,
Kids can say that they don’t like sleep,
That they’re not sleepy yet,
But in their dreams, the memories they keep,
Will keep them in bed, I bet
But sooner or later the alarm goes off, and we have to be interrupted,
But all we need to remember is when our minds imagination was erupted
-Andres Gomez

Galaxy Drawing by Anonymous

24

The Pride Post has chosen a number of authors and artists from previous magazines that we think deserve some
recognition. Here is the list of names & work in random order.

 Louis Dentrano for Volcanoes  Esther Yagudayev for Studying Through
 Sean Zhou for Snapple Fact: Butterflies The Night

Taste with Their Hind Legs  Vishva Patel for Dancing Moments
 Ariana Pacheco for Flames  Ariana Pacheco for Spring
 Mahru Nasir for Love  Shabana Khan for Mirror, Mirror
 Katelyn Zheng for Disney Love  Nicholas Morote for Black: The Deadly Disease
 Esther Yagudayev and  Luciano Morote for Strange Dreams
 Mena Labib for Craving Christmas
Isabella Rafailova for I Wonder  Isabella Galeano for Mr. Linden’s
 Olivia Turowski and Riya Patel for
Library
“Let’s Hang Out…”  Teresa Caragliano for Into The
 Chiara Luka for Believe It Or Not
 Arom Naeem for Love Poem Deep Wooden Forest
 Avner Yakubov for The One Who Watches  Suki Lin for Trees

Benjamin Rosenberg

Sophia M, Aarti P. Madina Azizi

Weiki Chen Jia Xin Lin Matthew Zhou

Diya Patel Noa Teitler Quinyu Jiang

Isabella Galeano Camila Santiago

Esther Yagudayev

Sawera Azam

Ashley C. Maya E. Dominic Czajkowski

Suki Lin

Zowie Shbairo Elan Ifraimov
Shreeya Joshi
Rachel Yusupov Joshua Leon Margarita S.

Iuliia Batorova Sebastian Torres Nicholas Roxas Jiya Patel Sophia Cruz
25 Chibuike Amasiani

Avi Yushuvayev

26

Randy Nicoletti Dominic Czajkowski

Shreeya Joshi

Kai Guo Winfred Lin

27

Funfield Saylum: Chapter 2

By Maaz Qasim and Ali Arefee

It’s been ten years since the “Incident”. Nobody would talk about it with me. Sometimes, I
hear the nurses whisper about me as the pass by. I’m on medications now. I never got over the “Incident”.
The doctor gave me something called Dulipnaz thinking that it would help me. However, that wasn’t the
case.

The last time the doctor gave me the medications, things got weird. Last night, when I looked out the
window, I saw a strange shadow. I thought the Shadowman was gone. He wasn’t my imagination. The scar on
my stomach was real and so was the Shadowman. Now, he was back. I was going insane, thinking he could
come out the shadows any moment and finish his job. I had to find him. Kill him.

I mainly started seeing the Shadowman coming after I took my medications. He was waiting for the
right moment to attack me. Then, I realized who the Shadowman was! It was the doctor! Whenever I left his
office, I could feel a rush of air and cold tingle down my spine —as if I were being watched. I had to do some-
thing!

After I got my next dose, I attacked the doctor. I tried to pull off the mask I thought he was wearing. I
jumped at him and tried to rip his skin off. He started screaming and the guards came in and pulled me off.
Then they got control of me and gave me a shot in my neck.

When I woke up, I was tied up and the doctor told me, “The medication I gave you was an anti -
hallucination drug called Nuplazid. It was supposed to help you, but it seems like the effects reversed.”

I wouldn’t believe it. Any of it. There was still a scar on my stomach from the incident that could prove
that all of this was real. But anyone I told would look at me like I was crazy. I was sick of being treated like I
was crazy. There was only one thing I could do. ESCAPE. After the doctor came for my new medication, I tried
going through the window. Locked. So, I sneaked down the stairs and into the kitchen where I took down a
cook and found an open window. I jumped.

The fall wasn’t that painful, probably because of the new medications that the doctor gave me to help
with headaches. The only place to go was the forest. I had to go into it before it became day. I was really far
into the forest, the trees getting thicker and I couldn’t see anything before me. I tripped on a root and fell on
to my face. As I tried to get up, there was a long shadow looking down at me…

TO BE CONTINUED...

Drawing by Caira Jeffrey

28

Prologue
By Esther Yagudayev

I walk down the block. Empty. The street lights blind me and I can’t seem to adjust. What
time is it? Where is everyone? I look at my wrist, where my watch used to be. It sure looks
like time to moisturize. I look up at the naked trees. It’s so funny how bundled up people get
for this season while the tree’s lose all their leaves and stand there, in the unbearable frost.
Just unable to move. Only a fraction of the moon is exposed tonight. It looked so curved as if
it were a baby crib. Well that must feel good to sleep on. I wish the muggers wouldn’t have
taken my phone. I could have called Monti to get me from this abandoned street. One second
I had my life together and the next it became a robbery scene. How did things go so wrong so
fast? Life happened.

Drawing by Caira Jeffrey

29

Fear Survey Part 1

What is your worst fear ? TOP 10 WORST FEARS IN
MIDDLE SCHOOL
Mossaab Maghni – thieves
Malik Mashriqi – the dark  GETTING
Joshua V. – killer clowns KIDNAPPED
Andre Cabrera – hospitals  BUGS
Alex Urrea – the ocean waves
Mia Paladines – spiders  RATS & MICE
Ashlee Brown – being held back /getting killed  SERIAL KILLERS
Joshua Leon – cockroaches
Valentina Yanguma – rats  CLOWNS
 HEIGHTS
 STALKERS
 THE DARK
 GHOSTS

 DOLLS
 THE DARK

What do you do to try and get over your fear ?

 Mossaab Maghni — playing video games
 Malik Mashriqi—to stay in the dark
 Joshua Valera—don’t go near them

 Andre Cabrera try not to get hurt ; Be safe
 Alex Urrea—going in the water and try not to sink

 Unknown– be around a doll all day
 Mia Paladines – see pictures of spiders

 Ashlee Brown – be prepared
 Joshua Leon—kill it

 Valentina Yangu3m0 a - ignore it

Fear Survey : Part 2

How can you teach other people to get over their fear?

 Malik M. –try to face it
 Joshua V. – stand up for themselves

 Andre C. –be careful
 Alex R. – take baby steps
 Mia P. - tell them to see what

they can accomplish
 Ashlee B. - teach them how to be prepared

 Joshua L .—teach how to be prepared
 Valentina Y. — tell them to do whatever it is it more often

If you heard a noise late at night would you go check it out or lock your door and hide?

 Malik M .—check it out
 Joshua V. – check it out
 `Andre C. -check it out

 Alex R.— check it out
 Mia P.—check it out
 Ashley B.—lock my door and hide
 Joshua L .—stay in my bed and keep the door closed
 Valentina Y .— check it out

TOP 10 WORST FEARS IN MIDDLE SCHOOL

 GETTING KIDNAPPED
 BUGS

 RATS & MICE
 SERIAL KILLERS

 CLOWNS
 HEIGHTS
 STALKERS
 THE DARK
 GHOSTS

 DOLLS

31

The Scepter
By Madina Azizi

“Come, Anna, come…” Eerie voices summoned Anna.
“Olivia, I’ll be right back, Anna murmured, not even look-
ing Olivia in the eye. The only thing she kept her eye on was the
light, and she had a terrible hunch that only she could hear the
mysterious voices.
As Anna made her way through the crowd to get to the
light, she kept her gaze on the light, and only the light, as if it
had possessed her mind. Once she reached the light, her look of
intrigue changed to one of bewilderment, for, this was not a
light, but a scepter!
The scepter was laid gently on the ledge of the bridge, and
when Anna picked it up, the scepter’s brightness reached new
heights, which consequently caught the attention of everyone at
the festival that night.
“Anna?” Olivia asked herself, with a biscuit in each hand.
Everyone gasped, and before anyone could yell, “Don’t
touch that!” it was already too late…

Drawing by Esther Yagudayev

32

The Visitor

Previously on, The visitor, Emma comes back home from school only to
be led by her dog to find someone standing in her doorway.

“Oh God…” I whispered under my breath. I didn't know what to do. I
didn’t know what to say. It was him. It was my older brother. I couldn't forget
him, he was mine, my one and only. Not to mention, his tattoo. My birthday. 4-
2-03. After all the arguing and fighting, why had he come back so abruptly?

Sure, he was adopted, but that’s why he had left in the first place, wasn't
it? He “wanted to find his real parents.” Actually standing face to face with
him, I realized how much time had passed. 6 years. A long and dreadful 6
years. But, again, he was my older brother, and I could never forget him.

“Emma…?” he said, breaking the eerie silence. I stood there. Frozen,
like an ice cube.

“I’m sorry! I never meant to leave so suddenly, I -”
“Why?” I snapped, not letting him finish his sentence.
“What?” He questioned”
“Why did you leave, Eric?” My voice croaked and tears started to fill my
eyes.
“It was never my intention to leave” was his only response.
I felt rage and sadness, and yet there was a spark of happiness, some-
where in there.
“Mom!” I shouted at the top of my lungs.
“Shhh!” He said, grabbing my wrist.
I tugged away but as soon as I freed myself, I tripped…

To be continued...

Chiara Luka

33

By Esther Yagudayev Types of best friends…

Directions: Play this quiz with your best friend.  Free Spirited Best Friend...
First, write down your answers to these
questions about yourself. Then, ask your best  Childhood Best Friend...
friend the same questions. Write the number of
questions that they got right and the score will  Imaginary Best Friend...
determine how well you know your best friend.
 Best Friend That's Your Twin...
Best Friend Quiz
 Best Friend That's Your Opposite...
Favorite hobby_____
Favorite color_____  Daring Best Friend...
Favorite tv show _____
Favorite book _____  Fancy Best Friend…
Favorite movie _____
How tall are they _____  Drama Filled Best Friend
Something they _____
Favorite quote _____  The On and Off Best Friend
Birthday _____
Favorite dessert _____  The Ride or Die Best Friend
Favorite food _____
Where are they from _____  Crazy Party Best Friend
How many siblings do they have _____
Favorite song _____  The Best Friend That Will Shave Her Head
Funniest memory ______ With You
One wish _____  The Straight Up Honest Best Friend
What’s one of their secrets _____
Favorite animal _____ If you scored 1-5...
The moment you realized you were besties____
It’s still a new friendship. You both are there for each other,
through thick and thin. Both of your personalities are com-
patible and you enjoy each other’s company.

If you scored 5-10...

You both can really be crazy around each other and have
many fun experiences. Both of you are loyal and very close.

If you scored 10-15...

You don't even have to speak and you already know what
your best friend is thinking. You both understand each other
well and you know how they will react to situations.

If you scored 15-20...

You know your best friend inside and out. You are
both very close and share everything with each other.
Your friendship will last a lifetime.

34

Word Search by Jiayi Lin

SH I S TORYVS Y T J K
HG I F S ENORA K I IM
F FBECNE I CSAAAY
HTGJ SPT ZBXCKYG
QRBDE R S E I V F E I H
WA E A N I Q R O I EMK D
RVNVONS E AN L I HS
AFQ I RC I THDA L AV
HNHDA I S A T AG I L F
K A I K D P T E A DMR R S
WN AMB A E HMR O B A P

E L X Z E L R T U NMF K A
I T S OG I MA I L I F T N
K M U S I C Z MWW S L Y I
IMS BA C KN E R S SMS
CGKF Z L I BRARYAH
H E N J I AWE ND T E TW
J E TEACHERS L KHR

Principal Library History
Teachers Math Spanish
Anime ELA Science
Art
Music Gym

Extra words included! (Hint Names & Family Members)
Good Luck! *_*

35
Answers on page 41

Ailin
Moldogazieva

Aasiyah
Aziz

36

Emily Ou

Maaz
Qasim

Margarita
Sachakov

37

Match the Staff Member To...

1 23 4

56 7 8

9 10 11 12

13 14 15 16
17 18

38

... Their Dream Car! O
P
AH
BI Q

CJ R

DK
EL
FM
GN

39

Fresh Summer Movies for 2018
Benjy Hanimov and Aaliyan Qureshi

Incredibles 2- A movie that everyone has been waiting to see for a
very long time. The first Incredibles movie came out November 5,
2004. Ever since that blockbuster fans have been waiting for the sequel. Finally, fans ‘ hopes
have come true. March 15, 2014 Pixar announced that a sequel to the Incredibles will come
out on June 15th, 2018. This movie picks up from where it last left off. A new threat arises,
and the Incredibles have to face the Moleman. Luckily, the Incredibles have a new addition
on their team, Jack the super powered baby.

Ant-man and the Wasp- A comedy and action packed movie where Scott Lang, A.K.A.

Ant-man takes on a new recruit, the Wasp, a female version of the Ant-Man. A new

threat arises and it’s up to them to save the world. It’s a fun ride with heroes not drawn to

scale. See this movie July 6, 2018!

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom- Four years after the Jurassic World theme park was
closed down, Owen and Claire return to Isla Nublar, the island, to save the dinosaurs. A
dormant volcano becomes active and can erase all dinosaur life as we know it. Along the way,

Owen sets out to find his lead raptor, Blue. June 22,.

The Darkest Mind– In a alternate universe, a disease kills most of the American
youth. Survivors of the pandemic develop powers. The government hunts down these children
deeming them too dangerous for society. A 16 year-old girl with telekinetic powers escapes

her camp and joins a group of teens on the run from the government. August 3.

Mission Impossible- Fallout- A sequel to the multi-million dollar franchise. In this movie
every good thing Ethan Hunt has done over his years as a spy could be turned around in this
movie. Fallout could kill millions and millions of people just in a couple of days. Ethan gathers

some old allies like Rebecca Ferguson, Michelle Monaghan in a race
against time after a mission gone wrong. July 27, 2018

Game Review
Haris DERVISEVIC
Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds or PUBG has been a wave of popularity that swept across the
masses and continues to be popular since its recent launch. PUBG is Battle Royal game where
100 players fight to be the last one standing and get the chicken dinner. Players parachute out
of planes and must scavenge in buildings and towns to find weapons and armor they need to
win. The game features mechanics such as a loot crate that drops every now and again with
powerful weapons, and armor. There are regional bomb drops that force players to leave a
certain area. As with many other Battle Royal games, such as Fortnite, PUBG includes a circle
that closes in on the player, encouraging them to fight.

40

41

Answer Key

Answer to Maze Answers to Teacher Match Up

1—M 9—G
2—D 10—I
3— L 11—Q
4—O 12—R
5—N 13—J
6—B 14—K
7—A 15—F
8—S 16—E

Answers to Word Search Drawing by Daniel Meskin

S H I ST OR Y V S Y T J K Answers from BTS QUIZ
HG I FS E NORA K I I M 1- G Jin
F F BEC NE I C S A AA Y
HTGJ S P T Z BX C K YG 2—A JHames Corden
QR B DE R S E I V F E I H 3— B Bagtansiongdan
WA W A N I Q R O I E MK D 4—D Jungkook and jimin
R QN VO N S E A N L I H S
AF QI RC I THD A L AV 5—B Jungkook
H N H DA I S A T A G I L F 6—D Jimin
K A I KD P T E A D M R R S
W N A MB A E H M R O B A P
E L XZE L R T UNM F KA
I T S OG I MA I L I F T N
K MU S I C Z MWW S L Y I
I MS BA C K N E R S S MS
CGKFZ L I BRA R YAH
H E N J I A WE N D T E T W
J E T EA C H E R S L K HR

41

Pride Post Middle School Staff

Editor: Ms. Backner
Ali Arefee

Mia Cifuentes
Andres Gomez
Benjy Hanimov
Karol Kopciuch
Matthew Lam

Wenjie Lin
Jiayi Lin

Aabir Maghni
Esther Nektalova

Maaz Qasim
Aaliyan Qureshi

Khalid Weish
Valentina Yanguma

Avi Yushuvayev

Special Thanks To:
Mr. Holz
Ms. Liotta
Sean Zhou

Olivia Turowski
Gao Lei

Leroy Chan
Avner Yakubov
Ms. Anderson
Esther Yagudayev
Aldiana Dervisevic

Sean Lei
Mrs. Pina
Riya Patel
Ms. Bert